This week, I visited the former capital of Spain, Toledo with my friends. The beautiful ancient city was very easy to reach, making it a perfect day trip location from Madrid.
Day trip from Madrid to Toledo
According to Google, there are three ways to reach the town – by car, bus, or train. We chose the bus option, as it was affordable, and the terminal was very close to our place.
Routes from Madrid to Toledo:
- Train: Around 10-15 euros one way (takes 30 minutes from the station).
- Bus: Approximately 5-7 euros one way (takes 1 hour from the terminal).
- Car: Takes around 50 minutes to 1 hour.
It was my second time visiting the city ever since my Spain trip in 2016. The city was full of Christmas lights and decorations as the holiday approached. The ancient city is set on a hill, but it was not too difficult to reach the center as there were a couple of escalators on the way.
The Burial of the Count of Orgaz
During this trip, I had one specific mission, which was to see the painting ‘The Burial of the Count of Orgaz(El entierro del Conde de Orgaz).’ Although I don’t know much about art, I’ve heard that it was one of El Greco’s masterpieces, which made me curious about experiencing it in person.
The painting was located in the Santo Tomé church, with an entrance fee of 4 euros. The painting was displayed just at the entrance, large and luminous. It commemorates the death of the patron of this church, Don Gonzalo Ruíz.
While the church itself did not have a unique feature, the painting was worth the visit even paying the entrance fee(if you plan to explore other monuments in Toledo, the ‘Toledo tourist bracelet’ can be a good deal!).
The painting was divided into two realms – the heavenly realm and the earthly realm. St. Augustine and St. Stephen appear in the earthly realm where they hold the patron and place his body in the tomb.
There was an actual tomb just below the painting which added relevance to its story. Overall, it was quite interesting to observe the contrast in the painting and discover small details El Greco implied(e.g. the self-portrait of himself, and his son, etc.).
After enjoying the piece of art, we walked around the town. It was like an old town, with a few other churches and small buildings scattered around.
Although the Christmas lights and the city itself were beautiful, the cold air and the narrow street filled with the endless stream of people led us to find a nice rooftop bar to relax in with the view of the city before having our last meal of the day.
Tip) Winter Weather in Toledo
The weather was similar to similar to Madrid (around 11-12 degrees during the time/ visited on the 6th of December) but cloudy as it was rainy the past couple of days.
We arrived in Toledo around 2 pm and headed back to Madrid around 10 pm. As we did not have a tight schedule planned, the half-day trip was more than enough to enjoy the beautiful city.
Even though we did not have a lot of information about the city before this trip, the city was already enjoyable just by strolling around. However, discovering a bit of history and information later (found out that it’s a city of three cultures and could see it while I was there!), I’m convinced there’s so much more to appreciate about this old capital.
Definitely planning another trip soon to learn more about its rich heritage!